Frank Graef, 67, had three wishes before he died from the cancer spreading rapidly throughout his body: He wanted to see his son, Adam, get married. He wanted to hear the headers on his beloved 1968 Oldsmobile 442. And he wanted to be surrounded by his family and friends when it was his time to go.

“It was such a shock. Everything happened so suddenly, but all three of his wishes were granted,” Graef’s daughter, Jennifer, said after her father, a longtime circulation manager for the Press-Telegram, Daily Breeze and Daily News, died at his home Aug. 18.

After being diagnosed with duodenum cancer in March, Graef underwent a 14-hour surgery to remove a large tumor. Almost four months after this surgery, and after chemotherapy and radiation treatment, the cancer returned and spread throughout his body.

He was given one to two weeks to live, and that’s when he made his three wishes.

On Aug. 12, Adam married his wife Chelsea in his hospital room. On Aug. 14, he was discharged from the hospital and was greeted at his home in Lake Forest with his favorite car, a 1968 Oldsmobile. On Aug. 18, he lost his battle with cancer surrounded by family and friends.

For 36 years, Graef held top positions in selling newspapers and made sure they were delivered on time to homes and vending machines.

“He was the paper’s go-to guy,” said Dennis Schafer, a colleague of Graef’s in the Circulation Department. “Over the years, he was the real strength of the Press-Telegram’s delivery system. He always thought of readers first.”

Graef’s unflappable, easygoing personality served him well in the sometimes rough-and-tumble world of newspaper delivery, dealing with angry subscribers in early morning hours. He proudly called the Press-Telegram “The Daily Miracle.”

Graef would go out of his way to help customers, including driving to a subscriber’s home to personally deliver a newspaper that was missed by the carrier that day.

Jim Smith, another circulation colleague, said that Graef attended any event where he could sell newspapers, his favorite being the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach where he and his son Adam sold thousands of Press-Telegrams from a booth on the race circuit.

Graef’s career at the Press-Telegram began in 1976. By then, he had already spent a decade in the newspaper business as a circulation manager at the old Cleveland Press. In 1975, he and his sweetheart Sharon were married.

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The Graefs decided to head west where Frank took a district manager’s job at the Press-Telegram and eventually worked his way up home delivery manager. His last position was as single-copy sales manager for the Press-Telegram, the Daily Breeze and the Daily News.

“He loved working at the newspaper,” his daughter Jennifer said. “When I was a little girl, I would tag along with him when he watched the papers coming off the press at the old P-T building at Sixth and Pine. That always made him happy.”

His daughter said her dad had an infectious smile and signature thumbs up. No one could turn redder or sport a better beard than Graef when playing Santa Claus at holiday events.

“My father approached his life with generosity, kindness and humor,” she said. “He was the quintessential gentleman with a heart of gold. Even during his roughest days, he still had a knack for cracking jokes and lighting up the room with his smile.”

Graef is survived by his wife Sharon; children Jennifer and Adam; sister Joanne Graef, and brothers Michael and Tony.

Services will be held at 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 5 at Riverside National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the American Cancer Society. Online condolences may be left at bobbittchapel.com.